Wives Under Suspicion

A prosecutor trying a case where a husband shot his adulterous wife begins to suspect that his own wife is having an affair, and starts to have his own thoughts about killing her. Successful District Attorney Jim Stowell has a thus far unbroken string of eleven convictions in eighteen months. He believes what he is doing is sweeping up after crimes - he in the process seeming also to relish in the tally in and of itself - and has an unwavering black and white view of what he is doing is all white, especially in those convictions leading to the person sent to the electric chair. In his focus on work, what is suffering, as he is rarely home, is his marriage to Lucy Stowell, despite that they love each other. Lucy can admit to herself that she notices in Jim a difference in his personality for the worse when he is working, from a loving man to a proverbial bulldog. Whenever Jim is reminded, especially by his secretary Sharpy, that he is neglecting Lucy and tries to make some meaningful changes to his work/life balance and amends to Lucy, he always gets sucked back into work in wanting/needing that next win. That twelfth case is against well-liked college professor Shaw MacAllen, who admits to killing his wife. He was unaware that his neglect had led to her ultimate disgust with him, until he saw her reflection in the mirror recoil when he went to kiss her, he, in his resulting rage, immediately killing her, but not who was ultimately learned was her lover. In that focus, Jim may not see the parallel with his own life in Lucy becoming increasingly disillusioned with their marriage, she having a close relationship with her cousin Elizabeth's serious boyfriend, Phil, which some might construe as romantic. —Huggo